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Ladislav Smid feels lucky, even though he came down with the H1N1 flu.
The Edmonton Oilers defenceman figured he, like a number of his teammates, had contracted the regular flu. And when the symptoms passed within a couple of days, he didn’t give it a second thought.
He didn’t even miss a game.
“I think it started last Tuesday,” Smid said. “I remember we had two days between games and I stayed home with a fever. I had a fever for a day-and-half and then I felt better on the day of the game. So I took the morning skate, felt better so decided to play that night.”
Smid is one of a handful of players around the league confirmed to have had the H1N1 flu. He was one of two Oilers tested for the virus. The results came in after he had already recovered.
Gilbert Brule was also tested but he didn’t have the H1N1 strain.
“I was shocked when I found out,” Smid said. “Brule had a way worse flu then I had and didn’t have it (H1N1), while I did.
“It is scary a little bit. I read a lot of stuff about it before. It started this summer with a few people dying. I’m lucky I didn’t have it that bad, it hit me for only two or three days. I still feel a little bit low on energy, but I think the worst is gone now.”
The main concern now in the Oilers locker-room is whether Smid passed on the flu virus to any of his teammates. His defensive partner Lubomir Visnovsky had to leave during the third period of Tuesday’s 3-0 loss to the Colorado Avalanche and missed practice yesterday.
The Oilers are treating Visnovsky as though he has the H1N1 virus.
“I feel bad for him, maybe he got it from me,” Smid said.
“You never know, hopefully he’s going to be back soon, we really need him. But I am a little worried, now that I know it was H1N1. I don’t want anybody to get sick from me. But it’s already happened, so there is not much I can’t do now.”
The Oilers have been battling a virus for the better part of the past two weeks. More than a half-dozen players have experienced flu-like symptoms. Some have tried to play through them, while others have been forced out of the lineup.
“I guess I got lucky and my body fought it pretty well,” Smid said. “But everybody is different, I guess. It started after Hemmer (Ales Hemsky) got sick. We got it on our way back from Chicago. It hit him a little harder than me. But I was washing my hands, I was using my own bottle, I was careful, but you never know, bacteria can be on the surface everywhere around you.
“We’re trying to be careful, but unfortunately this kind of stuff happens.”
The Oilers do not expect to have Visnovsky back in the lineup tonight when they host the Detroit Red Wings. There are also a number of other players who will play feeling less than 100%.
“I would guess this is an issue that the league should be concerned about and I’m sure they are,” said Oilers head coach Pat Quinn. “As far as how we operate here, we’re going to try an protect our players as best and we can. It’s an issue we all knew was coing and now that it’s here, we have to deal with it.”
derek.vandiest@sunmedia.ca